About Eternity

We believe in the personal and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ to “catch away” his church (the Rapture), and in a subsequent period of intense distress for those who remain on the earth (the Tribulation), which will be followed by the Lord’s personal return to earth with His saints to rule for 1,000 years (the Millennial Reign). Thus the people of God should earnestly and hopefully look forward to the Second Coming of Christ.7“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise form their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.” (I Thessalonians 4:13-17)“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:11)“Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the ﬁnal restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.” (Acts 3:19-21)“Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.” (II Thessalonians 2:1)“For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” (I Corinthians 11:26)“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. FOr when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies 8must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this scripture will be fulﬁlled: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’” (I Corinthians 15:51-54)“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. and we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” (Philippians 3:20-21)“He who is the faithful witness to all these things say, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)“...while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own,e ager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:13-14)“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31)In the end, all the dead will be summoned before the Great White Throne for their ﬁnal judgment, and all whose names are not found written in the Book of LIfe will be cast into the Lake of Fire.“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal ﬁre prepared for the devil and his demons.’” (Matthew 25:41)“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of ﬁre.” (Revelation 20:15)9“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars--their fate is in the ﬁery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)The redeemed will live for all eternity in the presence of God.“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’ ...And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty--but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life ... No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there--no need for lamps or sun--for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever...Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.” (Revelation 21:2-4, 23-27; 22:3-5, 14)Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.